Illustrations of the Croton AqueductTower, F. B. (Fayette Bartholomew)
History
Illustrations of the Croton Aqueduct
Tower, F. B. (Fayette Bartholomew)
Croton Aqueduct (N.Y.)
The Commissioners who were appointed in 1833, were re-appointed under
the Act of the 2d of May, 1834. They immediately entered upon the
duties of their office, thoroughly re-examined their former work, and
decided that the Croton River was the only source that would furnish
an adequate supply of water for present and future purposes. In making
these examinations they employed, as Engineers, David B. Douglass,
John Martineau and George W. Cartwright, Esquires. Various plans were
proposed for conveying the water to the city, and estimates made of
the cost of the work constructed by either of these plans, but the
one recommended by the Commissioners, and that for which a preference
was expressed by the Engineers, Messrs. Martineau and Douglass, was
a closed Aqueduct of masonry. These gentlemen each made an estimate
of the cost of bringing the water of the Croton River to the city of
New-York by a closed Aqueduct of masonry, and the Water Commissioners
offered, as the true cost of the work, an average of the two estimates.
The cost of the work, as estimated for this plan and presented by
the Water Commissioners, (including the cost of the city mains and
conduits,) was $5,412,336.72.
The report of the Water Commissioners was referred to a Committee,
who reported to the Common Council, on the 4th of March, 1835, two
resolutions, the first approving the plan adopted by the Commissioners
as described in their report; and the second referring the subject to
the electors at the ensuing annual election, as required by the Act of
May 2d, 1834. These resolutions were adopted by the Common Council, and
at the election in April, 1835, the subject having been duly submitted
to the electors of the city and county of New-York, a majority of the
voters were found to be in favor of the measure. On the 7th of May
following, the Common Council “instructed the Commissioners to proceed
with the work.”
Thus authorized, the Commissioners immediately commenced the
preparatory measures for the construction of the work. David B.
Douglass was employed as Chief Engineer; he proceeded in the location
of the line for the Aqueduct and in preparing plans, until October,
1836, when he was succeeded by John B. Jervis, who continued at the
head of that department during the construction of the Aqueduct.
The construction of the work was commenced in May 1837; and on the
22d June, 1842, the Aqueduct received the water from the Fountain
Reservoir on the Croton:--on the 27th of June, the water having been
permitted to traverse the entire length of the Aqueduct, entered the
Receiving Reservoir at the city of New-York, and was admitted into the
Distributing Reservoir on the 4th of July.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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